Jesse Eisenberg Worked on a Farm to Prepare for 'Night Moves'

By Lindsey Little | September 3, 2013

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Jesse Eisenberg, best known for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in the movie “The Social Network,” experienced life on a farm in preparation for his role as an eco-activist in the new indie film “Night Moves.”

For several months, Eisenberg worked on the organic farm that was director Kelly Reichardt’s starting point for the film, living in a yurt and working in cabbage fields.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday at the Venice International Film Festival, the actor said, “It just gives you a different sense of living. When you are planting the food that you eat, you feel a direct sense with interacting with the world for practical reasons, and alternatively you are feeling disgusted by a lot of modernity just by being separate from it. That is what my character believes in.”

The experience helped Eisenberg connect with his character’s motives.

“My character thinks of himself as a soldier in a war fighting what he views as modern society that’s been co-opted by business and technology.”

“I suppose there is a kind of irony if he is fighting to create a more beautiful, peaceful and sustainable environment, but doing it through kind of dangerous means. He views his acts as right and just, and he views the damage as collateral damage.”

When we reject human injustice, nobody needs to go on a “journey” to get to that point. Where animals are concerned, we’re all too eager to pack the car, don the sunglasses and go for ride before we see the truth of what has been in front of us the entire time.